S7 Boeing 737 MAX 8
Since the next aircraft in development will be the Boeing 737 Max, let’s vote for the only livery for this aircraft in Russia💫💚
About S7 Airlines
S7 Airlines (Russian: АО Авиакомпания “Сибирь”), is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. As of 2008, it was Russia’s largest domestic airline, with its main bases at Domodedovo International Airport and Tolmachevo Airport. It is a member of the Oneworld alliance but its membership is currently suspended (relevant for 2024).
In October 2018, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 and became the Russian launch customer of the aircraft type. In September 2022 the aircraft were returned to their lessor.
The fate of airplanes in Russia
The aircraft were stored in Novosibirsk for three years after the ban on MAX flights in Russian airspace due to known disasters; and after the ban was lifted, this type of aircraft did not have time to be re-certified in Russia: first because of the pandemic, and then because of political tensions, difficulties with visas to send a delegation to Seattle and, eventually, sanctions. Source
S7 MAX after 2022
Therefore, both MAX 8s, which S7 managed to get new from the factory in 2018, were eventually allowed to be returned to the lessor — starting in the spring of 2022, this required the approval of the Russian Import Substitution Commission. The planes flew to Turkey in October and then to the Netherlands for maintenance, repainting and reassembly in February 2023. Later they resumed flights for Southwind in a single-seat layout with 189 seats. Source
